Home > Letters to CRAustin English In A Mass E-Mail Asking You To Support The Projectsposted August 21, 2012

I'm writing on behalf of Dunja Jancovic, Jason Levian and Lisa Magnum who are organazing a 3 day experimental art and ocmics festival in Portland called THE PROJECTS. Here is how the festival is described in the words of the organizers:

"THE PROJECTS brings together experimental artists from comics, animation, and other narrative arts for a free three-day festival of workshops, exhibitions, panels, performances, projections, collaborative projects, and intensive creative mayhem! Guest artists each have a small space to curate however they please and visitors are invited to join in the fray. The festival is oriented toward creative process, idiosyncratic expression and inspiration, leaving behind the festival model of comics as commerce. Gone are the tables and the sales pitch – instead, a party!"

I think this is an idea whose time has really come. I've gone to many comics festivals in my life, and always enjoy being in a room with countless other creative people. But I have always felt the model of artists sitting at tables with their work is not the best use of all these artists traveling to one spot. I really think something like this project is a really essential step for art comics---the strength of what is being created in comics today far outweighs the institutions that the work exists within. There is a potent community within comics but far too few resources and institutions that have the pure integrity of what is being proposed here.

As an artist and small publisher, I want the world I devote so much energy to to be full of things like this event. If you are involved in comics---or art in general---I encourage you to think about donating to this project. Thanks!